A Day In May
by platinumblind
Summary: The year is 1519, and Ezio's days as a high-flying assassin are far behind him. But long gone feelings come flooding back to him, when an old friend returns to his life for the last time.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes:** This fic is a bit of a mixture of video game fiction and real life facts. It was originally going to be a one-shot, but it's become hideously long, so I'm splitting it into two (or possibly three) parts. Also, this is my first piece of fic published to the Internet for almost three years, and my first Assassin's Creed fic at that. I've never written anything that is set in the Renaissance era, I usually only write modern day, so if there are any major discrepancies please don't hesitate to tell me. Hope you enjoy this, guys.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ezio or any other mentioned Assassin's Creed characters, they belong to Ubisoft. The OC's mentioned obviously belong to me. As for Leonardo Da Vinci, he belonged to himself as far as I'm aware.

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As he stood on the second floor balcony looking out over beautiful early morning Firenze, Ezio Auditore felt relaxed and at ease. He felt a very lucky man to be viewing the sights in front of him.

It was 1519, and many years had passed since Ezio's glory days as an Assassin. Still an esteemed member of the Order, the Florence-born noble had slowly succumbed to age, and now he had accepted that his days of free-running across rooftops were well and truly behind him. Ezio was now almost sixty years old, his strong limbs replaced with weaker, aching muscles and his stallion-like locks now a silvery mane.

However, even with time constantly marching on, his memories never faded. With every day that passed he constantly relived the moments of the last forty years of his fast-paced, never peaceful life. The unexpected murders of his father and his brothers, which was the starting point to all that Ezio became as a Master Assassin. With every person he murdered in vengeance, he could wash their blood from his hands, but he always felt that the blood of the three people who meant most to him also lingered there, and it would never truly wash away.

He knew how to keep his emotions in check, and made sure they never made their way outward – that was the way to being a true Assassin – but that didn't stop him from feeling the ache of guilt deep in his heart every single day. He often wondered how his brother Federico would be now. What little Petruccio would have grown up to become. Now all that was left of their family was Ezio and Claudia.

Maria, their mother, had died three years earlier, and it had no doubt left a void in both their lives. Even up to the day she died, Ezio noticed that Maria had never gotten her sparkle back. That look in her eyes, the way she would light up whenever Giovanni walked into a room. The moment he was snatched away, something inside her was snatched away with him, and it never returned. She had become a shell of the woman she was, and it broke Ezio's heart every single day. He could never fix it, even though he had spent thirty years trying. That was the part of his mother's death that Ezio found the hardest to accept; the fact that she left this world not at peace at all.

"Ezio?"

The grey-haired Italian snapped out of his deep thoughts and turned around, a small smile forming on his scarred lips as he laid his eyes on the person whom had called his name.

"Rosalie, cara mia, it is a beautiful day, made even more beautiful by your presence." He took two steps forward, reaching for the hand of the aged yet strikingly beautiful woman. She laughed at his words, stepping towards him as he pulled her into an embrace, planting kisses softly on her neck.

"Mio marito, ever the charmer."

Rosalie Auditore, Ezio's wife of almost eight years. She was a tall, long-legged, olive-skinned woman, with flowing raven-coloured hair and slight tweaks of grey in the middle parting. Ezio had met her when he moved back to Firenze, and it wasn't long before she had tamed the Assassin and made him her own. They had been blessed with a child a year after their marriage; a son, whom they named Lucio.

With every day Ezio knew he would have to tell his son about his Assassin heritage, but he didn't even know where to begin. He finally understood why his own father had kept it from him. It had been a tough thing to digest when, at 19 years of age, he received the truth from his Uncle Mario. He was so young, and part of him knew that he'd only accepted the truth because he was backed into a corner and had no choice. Lucio was barely seven years old; so sweet and innocent. Ezio couldn't bring himself to destroy the perfect, sugar-coated world that his son believed in. But he cast a thought back to how it felt to learn his own father had been living a secret double life. He never wanted Lucio to feel as hurt and confused as he had been. It was a difficult situation. Ezio could only hope that his son would live a peaceful life, a life not marred with loss and tragedy like his own.

"How did you sleep?"

"Very well, my darling, and yourself?"

"Just fine."

Rosalie released herself from his embrace gently and took a step back, grasping onto her husband's hands. "Come down for breakfast bello mio. Lucio is asking for you."

Ezio nodded in agreement and followed his wife down to the dining room. They lived in the Villa Auditore - which had needed some remodelling when Ezio had returned to Firenze – but Ezio did not want to let their beautiful home slip out of his family's hands. He had offered Claudia an opportunity to live there with him, but she politely refused, citing the reason that she'd started her own life in Venezia and did not want to leave.

Ezio often wondered if she simply found it too painful to come back to Firenze after all that had happened. Losing Maria hadn't helped; Claudia had considered their mother her best friend.

"Good morning my son," Ezio said as he stepped into the dining room, seeing Lucio sat at the table, waiting patiently as their servant walked around placing down plates and cutlery.

"Good morning father!" Lucio replied excitedly, a beaming smile on his face.

Ezio returned the smile to his young son, then pulled out a chair and beckoned Rosalie to sit down.

"Thank you my love," she spoke, kissing him before taking a seat. Ezio pulled out another chair for himself, preparing to sit, as he heard the sound of a thundering knock at their front door.

"I'll just go see who that is," he said softly to Rosalie, making his way towards the hall. He reached for the handle of the beautifully carved wooden door, and pulled it open. In front of him stood a young man, dressed in smart white and blue clothes, carrying an envelope in his hands.

"Good morning Sir Auditore! Per placere, forgive me for the early intrusion on your day, but I have travelled all the way from the Chateau d'Amboise, at the request of the great King Francis I."

Ezio's eyes widened. "You came from France? What does your King want with me?"

"I have a letter from you, from His Majesty himself. It is of great importance. I suggest you read it right away." The messenger thrust the letter out in front of him. Ezio reached for it, eyeing the messenger suspiciously as he opened it.

_The fine and noble Ezio Auditore da Firenze,  
My most humble greetings to you. I realise that you and I have never met, and that this letter may seem rather unexpected and abrupt. Accept my sincerest apologies in this case. I am writing this as a favour for my dearest friend, Leonardo Da Vinci. As I am sure you are already aware, I employed Leonardo some many years ago, and he currently resides at Clos Luce, close to my royal residence. This is a matter of grave importance. The brilliant and talented Leonardo has become gravely ill. I can say with an honest hand upon my heart that I do not believe the man has much time left to inhabit upon this Earth.  
He has often spoken of you, Ezio Auditore, the man whom he considers the closest he has to family. You and he may not share blood, but he calls you his brother and it would be wrong for Leonardo to pass to the next world without seeing his only brother one last time. I send this in the hope that it reaches you soon enough. The messenger I am sending with this letter will direct and accompany you to Amboise. I hope that you can visit as soon as possible.  
Sincerely  
His Royal Highness King Francis I, House of Valois_

Ezio looked up from the letter slowly, a million thoughts running through his mind. He had not seen Leonardo in many years, but it did not mean that Ezio felt any less for the man. As the letter said, they had been like brothers since their very first meeting forty-three years earlier. Leonardo was the one man Ezio had always explicitly trusted. They had been through so much together. It was Ezio's fight all along, but Leonardo was the one who always stood beside him, and to learn that Leonardo was losing the last and most important fight of his own, cut Ezio right to the core.

His attention turned to the messenger, still stood in the doorway nervously, waiting for some kind of response to the letter he had just handed over.

"Are you returning to Amboise right away?" Ezio asked him. The messenger simply nodded.

"I'm coming with you. I think the time has come for me to visit Leonardo."


	2. Chapter 2

A huge thanks to the people who have reviewed and also favourited/signed up for alerts for this story. It's such a huge honour to open up my e-mail inbox and find a ton of e-mails from

Whoever is reading, any feedback/reviews/concrit on it from you all would be much appreciated... like I mentioned before, it's been a good few years since I've written anything major like this, and I always like to find ways to improve.

Thanks again my darlings! Your support always overwhelms me, I love you all.

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ezio or any other mentioned Assassin's Creed characters, they belong to Ubisoft. As for Leonardo Da Vinci, he belonged to himself as far as I'm aware!

* * *

It had felt like forever since Ezio agreed to travel to Amboise, with the messenger whose name, he learned, was Tomas. The two barely spoke to each other during the journey; Ezio sitting in the carriage while Tomas mainly sat up front with the man controlling the horses. The journey was long and tedious, and gave Ezio more time to think than he could have ever wanted or needed. He thought about how understanding yet unhappy Rosalie was at the prospect of Ezio leaving, so abruptly and for a place that was a great distance away.

"_Leonardo is amico mio, Rosalie. Mi caro fratello. I've known him since I was a teen. He's grown up with me and now... now I'm being told he's about to die. I have to go. The thought of another important person in my life leaving without me getting a chance to say goodbye, I –"_

"_You should go, Ezio. Say goodbye to your friend. I know you need this, darling."_

"_Thank you, amore."_

"_Promise me you will be safe, alright?"_

"_I promise. I love you."_

Through the entire journey, although he tried to fight it, all he could think about was everybody, everything that he'd lost. It wasn't like Ezio to be so outwardly sombre; he was trained to be so devoid of emotion, and he'd become practically professional at it. But the thought of losing Leonardo seemed to bring out the worst in him. Like he'd said to Rosalie, they'd grown up together. Ezio remembered the first time they'd met; chatting away to each other with Maria while Ezio carried a box of paintings back to the Villa Auditore. Ezio had been 17 years old; Leonardo was 24. Both so young and naive, so fresh faced and blind to the troubles of life. Along their paths they'd both suffered tragedy and setbacks, but they always seemed to support each other. They laughed together. The world seemed a little bit easier to live in whenever Leonardo was around. He was so smart, so talented, so genuine, and it never ceased to amaze Ezio. He was something truly special... and now, it seemed, it was his time to leave the world behind.

Ezio hadn't felt so alone in a long time.

He mentally cursed himself for being so foolish. He had a comfortable life now; he had a wife and a son whom both adored him. He had been close to Leonardo, but he hadn't seen the man for ten years. _I'm making this more difficult than it needs to be. I can say goodbye. I've said goodbye so many times. I can do it once more._

A few more days passed, and it was early daybreak as Ezio felt the horse and carriage grind to a halt. His eyelids fluttered and he slowly opened them, his tired eyes scanning the view around him. It looked like a place he'd never seen before. So much green, so many beautiful blossoming trees surrounded him. As Tomas clambered down to open the carriage door for Ezio, he stepped out onto the large stone path way and was taken completely aback by the sight in front of him. The red-bricked mansion was beautiful.

"This way Messer Auditore, I will take you into the house. I'm sure Leonardo will be trés heureux to see you."

Ezio followed Tomas to the front of the house, making their way past the amazing garden maze. The Italian had never travelled to France before, and he couldn't get his head around how beautiful his first glance of it seemed to be. He understood now why Leonardo had come here. It was a breathtaking place to be.

Tomas knocked on the fantastically decorated and carved white front door, and almost immediately the door opened up as they were greeted by a red-haired woman.

"Bonjour, Tomas," she spoke softly in her thick French accent. She glanced at Ezio, confused for a moment but then brightening up as she seemed to put the pieces together. "Ah, is this the famous Ezio Auditore that Leonardo always speaks of?" Ezio smiled politely at her.

"Yes. Monsieur Auditore, this is Leonardo's servant Anna. Anna, is Leonardo awake?"

Anna turned her attention back to Tomas, her facial expression falling once again. "He is awake, but Tomas, he is not doing so good. He seems... very tired." She looked towards Ezio. "Would you like to see Monsieur Leonardo now?"

Ezio simply nodded, and Anna beckoned him to follow her up the huge wooden staircase.

"He speaks of you all the time. You are very dear to him," Anna said as they made their way down the first floor corridor.

"As he is to me," was all Ezio could think to reply.

As they stepped into the bedroom, decorated with a theme of dark and deep reds, Ezio's eyes focused on the large four poster bed in the middle of the room. There was a person laying in it, facing the other way so his face could not be seen from where Ezio was standing. Anna walked over to the side of the bed, and put a hand on the person's shoulder.

"Monsieur Leonardo, you have a visitor. Ezio Auditore is here to see you."

"E...Ezio?"

The person in the bed shuffled slightly, then began to turn around and sit up. He looked at Ezio, and immediately his face lit up. Ezio smiled, feeling a wave of emotion come over him that he couldn't quite understand.

"Leonardo. Amico mio."

"Amico mio. My dearest Ezio, it is good to see you." The two men were silent for a few awkward moments, and then: "Well, come, sit with me."

Ezio made his way over to the side of the bed where Leonardo lay, and sat down beside him on the edge. Ezio noticed how much Leonardo had aged in ten years, although he knew that he himself could not speak about looking older. They both had grey hair, both had faces marred by bags and wrinkles. Leonardo still had his trademark facial hair but it was much longer, and just as grey as the hair on his head.

Leonardo was the first one to speak. "So, Ezio, how are you doing? I cannot believe that you travelled all this way to visit me."

"I received a letter from His Majesty, requesting me to come see you as soon as possible. He said..." Ezio took one of Leonardo's hands in his, and held it tightly. "...He said you don't have long left."

Leonardo squeezed Ezio's hand, looking him right in the eyes. "I don't know, Ezio. I feel like I am fading fast. I cannot do the things I used to. I am simply old, Ezio. But I am ready for whatever is next for me. Whatever is on the other side, I accept the challenge."

Ezio smiled humbly at his old friend. "You've not changed."

"Age changes nothing about me. Just my face, and my poor limbs. And by the looks of things, it has done the same to you!"

They both laughed.

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More to come soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Again, a very sincere thank you to everybody who has favourited/signed up for alerts/reviewed. You guys are fantastic.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ezio or any other mentioned Assassin's Creed characters, they belong to Ubisoft. As for Leonardo Da Vinci, he belonged to himself as far as I'm aware.

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The day passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Ezio made himself comfortable in a chair next to Leonardo's bed, and sat there as they talked for hours and hours. They discussed the past, the present, and what they felt the future may be. For a while, both men forgot the past ten years' absence between them. It was as if neither of them had aged at all. It was like they were back in Leonardo's workshop in Venezia all over again.

As the night-time began to descend, their conversation never faltered.

"So, Ezio, tell me, what do you do in Firenze now?" Leonardo asked.

Ezio glanced over at the bedroom window, finally noticing that the sunshine and blue skies had been replaced by a sheet of black, a beautiful bright moon and so many stars. "I am still very much involved in the Order, but I cannot actively work for them anymore. Many of my days are spent at home."

"On your own? Or with your mother and Claudia?"

Ezio sighed at the last question. He turned back to face Leonardo, a sullen look on his aged features. "Claudia lives in Venezia. As for my mother... she died, three years ago."

Leonardo's face dropped. "Oh, Ezio... I am so sorry. She was a good woman."

All Ezio could do was nod.

"You live alone, then?" Leonardo continued, trying to change the subject.

"Not exactly..." Ezio realised that he hadn't mentioned his family to his friend. It suddenly occurred to him just how long it had been since their days together in Italy. His face brightened up. "I am married now. And I have a child. A son."

A huge grin made its way across Leonardo's features. "Bambino? Ah, congratulations Ezio, I am so very thrilled for you. A brave little boy to carry on the Auditore name! And you are married? That is so wonderful."

Ezio could almost feel the happiness and pride radiating from him as he spoke of his family. "Rosalie is a wonderful woman. And my little bambino, my little Lucio... he is seven years old now."

"Oh, that is a beautiful thing you have there, Ezio. Well done for you."

"Thank you," Ezio smiled warmly. Then a thought came to him. "Leonardo, what about you?"

"What about me?" Leonardo questioned, confused.

"You never had a family. You never married. Why?"

Leonardo's eyes widened slightly, and he studied his friend's genuine face for a moment. Then out of nowhere, he began to chuckle. Now it was Ezio's turn to be confused. "What?"

"I never married," Leonardo began to explain, "Because it would be too much hassle for a man such as myself."

Ezio sniggered. "Ah, si, I know all about the pains of the women -" Leonardo raised a hand, cutting off Ezio's sentence.

"No, Ezio. I..." Leonardo shuffled in his place slightly, feeling awkward, not knowing how to put his next thought into words.

The younger man furrowed his brows. "You what? I don't understand."

"I... don't like women. At all. To be honest with you Ezio, I have to say, I... I have always favoured being in the company of males such as you and I. I thought you knew this?"

Ezio froze as he listened to his older friend's words. "I thought you were just shy!"

Leonardo laughed out loud. "Oh, bless you Ezio." Then he noticed the slight look of shock on his companion's face. "Mi dispiace, I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Oh! No! It does not make me uncomfortable at all. Leonardo, you are my friend. What kind of friend would I be to you if I didn't accept your choices?" Ezio smiled genuinely, and Leonardo smiled back, the awkwardness disappearing in an instant.

Suddenly Leonardo's smile left his face, and a look of pain spread across his features. He leaned back into his pillows, clutching at his chest, and Ezio practically leapt from his chair and rushed to him.

"Leo! Are you feeling alright? What's the matter?" he cried worriedly.

Leonardo reached for Ezio's hand and squeezed it for a second. "It's... it's nothing, Ezio," he choked out, "Just some pains. They're subsiding."

Ezio gripped his friend's hand and watched helplessly as Leonardo lay there, eyes shut and face contorted in pain. The older man used his free hand to idly rub his chest, his breathing becoming laboured.

"They don't look like they are subsiding, Leonardo..." Ezio pointed out quietly, "Shall I call Anna?"

Leonardo shook his head violently. "I've had these pains for weeks, Ezio. They just flare up on occasions." His breathing began to slowly return to normal, and he gradually opened his eyes. He gave Ezio's hand another quick squeeze. "It's alright, amico mio, it's going away now."

"Are you sure?"

Leonardo took one deep breath, and then nodded. "Yes." He released his friend's hand, but Ezio stayed where he was, sat beside Leonardo on the bed. "If it's not too much trouble though Ezio, could you stay here with me for tonight? I do hate being all on my own, and calling Anna is always such an inconvenience, she is all the way over on the other side of the house."

"Of course. You are why I am here."

"Grazie."

The next hour passed slowly, with very little talking. Ezio did not want to strike up too much conversation to distress Leonardo; he noticed that although his friend had improved from earlier, his breathing hadn't completely returned to normal. It was slow, and wheezy at times. Ezio felt relieved to be there. It was obvious something was definitely wrong.

More time went on, and without really noticing it, Ezio was beginning to drift off to sleep, sitting on the bed next to Leonardo, his head leaning back against the headboard. Leonardo, however, couldn't sleep. He was staring out towards the window, in deep thought and concentration.

"Ezio?" he suddenly spoke into the darkness.

Ezio stirred slightly, opening his eyes. "Hmm?"

"I feel that I need to confess something to you."

This sentence was enough to awaken Ezio out of his incoming slumber. He lifted his head off the headboard to look over at his friend, who was still staring out at the window. "What's wrong?"

"Well... this is difficult to say..." Leonardo slowly turned his head to look at Ezio, who seemed confused once again.

"It is just us, Leo. You can say anything you wish to say to me."

"You see, the thing is..." Leonardo thought intently for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "All the time that you and I have spent together during the last thirty years. The fact that I have never met anybody as... _incredible_ as you..."

Ezio hadn't become any less confused by this statement. "What are you trying to say?"

Leonardo sighed. "I'm trying to say... Ezio... that quite simply, I... love you." He swallowed hard, almost feeling his younger friend's stare piercing through his skull, even though they could barely see each other in the darkness. "I have always loved you."

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The part after this one is the final one, guys! Just letting you know. :( Am rather gutted that my very first fanfiction journey with Ezio and Leonardo is almost at an end.

Thanks again for the love, readers! More to come soon.


	4. Chapter 4

The final part! My very first Ezio/Leo journey has come to an end! *sob* Hope you all have enjoyed this. So... to everybody who's favourited this, let's have some final thoughts from you all, eh? ;) What did you think? Did you enjoy it?

Oh, and I've just realised someone in an earlier review asked me if Ezio's wife Rosalie was the same character as Rosa in AC2. The answer to that is **no**. Rosalie is an OC I invented myself, and I apologise for the confusion. When thinking up a name for her I completely forgot how similar her name is to Rosa's.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. But one last thing: thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has followed me through my very first Assassin's Creed fic journey. Your love and support through your subscriptions and reviews is appreciated more than you will all ever know!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ezio or any other mentioned Assassin's Creed characters, they belong to Ubisoft. As for Leonardo Da Vinci, he belonged to himself as far as I'm aware!

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There was an inevitable silence between them. Leonardo waited for a response. Ezio was at a complete loss for words. A million thoughts seemed to run through his mind at that moment. So much had happened in the past. Ezio would have been lying if he'd said that he hadn't ever contemplated his true feelings for Leonardo during the past forty years, between the magical yet fleeting moments they spent together and then the great amounts of time they spent apart. Of course, he had always loved the man, and it would have been easy for either of them to start losing the will to see the difference between love and _in love_. It was a simple human instinct. Ezio easily trusted Leonardo more than anybody else he had ever met, and it could have been the simplest thing in the world for two open-minded individuals like themselves to let a romance blossom. Ezio trusted Leonardo with his life. It would have been so simple to hand his heart over to the man, no questions asked.

"Leonardo..." was all he could force himself to whisper.

"I- I'm sorry, Ezio. B-but... I just..." Leonardo began to stammer, only stopping when Ezio gave him a pleading glance. He took in a breath, and started his sentence again. "I do not want to make you uncomfortable. Our friendship is a very important piece of my life. But I could not leave this world, and leave you, without telling you the one piece of information about myself I have never trusted you with."

"Leonardo." Ezio turned so he was sat facing his friend. Leonardo couldn't force himself to look at Ezio at first, until the younger man reached out to his chin and turned his head so they were finally making eye contact with each other. Leonardo had a guilty look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Ezio. You are my dearest friend, and I –"

Ezio raised a hand to silence him, and Leonardo's voice trailed off.

"Leonardo, I have loved you for a very long time."

Now it was Leonardo's turn to be shocked and confused. "You... mi dispiace, what?"

Ezio laughed quietly. "I have trusted you with everything about me. It would be impossible for me not to love you. Do not misunderstand me, I am in love with my bella Rosalie, she is everything to me, and I could never even dream of betraying her. But although you and I took our different paths in life, I have always loved you. Throughout my entire life, loving you is the easiest thing I could have ever done."

"Ezio, it warms my heart to hear you say this to me."

The two shared a small smile between each other, no more words needed for the moment.

"Maybe it is time we tried to sleep for a while," Ezio finally spoke, leaning back against the headboard.

"Hmm, maybe you are right, amico mio," Leonardo agreed, shuffling and shifting back against his pillows.

Ezio's eyelids fluttered shut, and he began once again to attempt to fall back into slumber. The night had taken an unexpected turn, but he felt at ease knowing that he had finally explained to his friend just how he truly felt. He hadn't expected the words to fall out of his mouth so quickly, and nor had he expected Leonardo to speak of his feelings so bluntly and suddenly, especially after such a long period of absence in each other's company. But he was glad that it was done with. For so many years Ezio regretted that he could not save the ones he loved, but at the very least he wished he could have said goodbye to them, and explained just how much they meant. He was just an immature, foolish teenager then, but his family had meant everything to him. He could only hope that, wherever they were, they understood just how much love he felt for them.

Ezio felt himself beginning to slip into unconsciousness, when in the faint distance he could hear the sound of someone's voice. He felt a hand grabbing at his arm urgently. In a second his eyes shot open, and he turned to Leonardo, who was sat up in bed, leaning forward, his breathing shallow and wheezy.

"Leonardo!" Ezio cried out, a sense of dread flooding through him.

Leonardo turned to his friend, the two locking eyes, and it was as if they both knew. The letter Ezio had received had been correct. The timing of his arrival had been almost perfect. They'd had their time together, and now it was coming to an end. The final goodbye was imminent. Ezio could almost feel the clock turning back. The same knot in his stomach that he'd had as a teenager when he was forced to helplessly watch the wooden panels slide out from underneath his father and brothers' feet. The same knot he'd had over a decade earlier when he stood on a rooftop in battle-stricken Monteriggioni, as Cesare pulled the trigger on the gun he forcibly held against Mario's throat. The same knot from three years earlier as he watched his mother laying in bed, weak and frail, taking her last breath. He'd lost so many; yet he was so unprepared to lose another.

"I'm going to get Anna," he assured Leonardo, as he leapt off the bed and headed for the bedroom door.

"No, NO, Ezio!" Leonardo spoke, his voice raspy as he struggled to maintain his breathing. "Come... sit... please."

Ezio stopped in his tracks, wondering why Leonardo had asked for such an unusual request. Leonardo was such a popular and loved person; Ezio knew the best thing would be for him to be surrounded by the others who loved him. But nevertheless, Ezio did not want to distress Leonardo any further. He shut the bedroom door quietly, then made his way back toward the bed, sitting on the edge of Leonardo's side of it, taking his friend's hand in his.

"What about everybody else? Anna... and His Majesty would want to see you – "

"Ezio. No. Just you and me... this is what I want. Quiet. Peaceful." Leonardo looked so pale, so weak and frail. So different from the Leonardo that Ezio had met so long ago. The former assassin silently cursed age and time in his head. It was so unfair. Leonardo had been such a brilliant man, cursed by the fact that the sands of time seemed to flow so quickly, and that it knew nothing of recklessly taking the lives of others along with it.

"Are you sure?" Ezio questioned him, still gripping tightly onto the painter's hand.

Leonardo nodded weakly, leaning back into his pillow once again. "Ezio... I asked His Majesty to send you the letter... it was so important to me that I have you here with me..."

Ezio couldn't find the right words. He just fixed his gaze on his friend, feeling so much emotion that it honestly overwhelmed him. He knew that he knew better, but he couldn't hold it back. So many years, so many times holding back his true feelings. He never held back anything with Leonardo. Ezio had entrusted him with everything, and that wouldn't change with his final moments.

"Thank you, amico mio. My world... was always so much brighter with your presence." Leonardo's breathing was beginning to slow, and his voice was barely audible. Ezio leaned close, slipping his free hand around the back of the elder's head and supporting it gently.

"As was mine with yours."

Leonardo stared right into Ezio's deep, beautiful hazel eyes, giving him a weak smile which Ezio immediately returned. His breathing continued to slow, and his grip on the younger man's hand seemed to loosen slightly.

"Ti voglio, mio fratello," spoke Leonardo quietly.

"Mi caro fratello," responded Ezio, mustering all his strength to fight the whirlwind of emotions inside him, "Ti voglio bene."

And with that, Leonardo took one last deep breath, and exhaled slowly, his eyelids slowly shutting. Ezio watched his friend carefully, part of him in disbelief at what he was seeing. Leonardo's body became still. His head lolled back against Ezio's firm hand, and Ezio closed his eyes, glancing away at the window for a split second. A sigh escaped his lips. He knew it was over.

Glancing back, he very gently began to stand up, slowly removing his hand from behind Leonardo's head so that it fell back against the cool feather pillow. Ezio gave his friend's hand one last tight squeeze and then, very reluctantly, let it go.

Without thinking, Ezio did the last thing he would ever do for his friend. He leaned in close to him, gently brushing the hair away from his face. He kissed his forehead, letting his lips linger for a few seconds, and then drew away slowly.

Fighting back the emotion was terribly difficult, but Ezio managed to restrain his tears. There was no more future for them; all that was left were the memories Ezio was more desperate than ever to hold on to. But there was the bright side: his very best friend, his brother, was finally at peace.

"Requiescat in pace."


End file.
